$Unique_ID{PAR00122}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{Medical Advice:  Moles}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{
Editors of Consumer Guide
Chasnoff, Ira J}
$Subject{Moles protruding skin growth growths bleeding crusting color changing
mole noncancerous pigmented nevus cancerous malignant cosmetic removal
electrocautery acids dry ice liquid nitrogen}
$Log{}

Your Child:  A Medical Guide


Moles


     Quick Reference

     SYMPTOM
     - Flat, dome-shaped, or protruding skin growths that can be up to a
       half-inch long and vary in color

     HOME CARE
     - If a mole requires treatment of any kind, it will be necessary to see a
       doctor.

     PRECAUTIONS
     - A doctor should see any mole that is bleeding, crusting, changing
       color, or growing rapidly.  A doctor should also be consulted if a mole
       has been partly removed by accident or if the color is extending into
       the surrounding skin.
     - Most moles are noncancerous.  However, a type of mole known as a
       pigmented nevus can become cancerous; this mole (unlike other types) is
       present at birth and is dark in color and very large.
     - Moles cannot be safely removed with electrocautery, acids, dry ice, or
       liquid nitrogen.  If removal is necessary, it must be performed, with a
       scalpel, by a doctor.
     - No child is completely free of moles.  Some children have hundreds of
       them.


     Moles are benign (noncancerous) growths on the skin.  They can be flat,
dome-shaped, or protruding.  They vary in color from tan or brown to blue or
black, and in size from one-sixteenth to one-half inch or larger.  Moles are
rarely present at birth; they develop during childhood.  No child is totally
free of moles, and some children have hundreds of them.
     It is very unlikely that any mole will become cancerous (malignant).
However, one exception to this statement is a type of mole called a pigmented
nevus.  This mole, which is present at birth, is extremely large (several
inches wide) and dark.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

     Moles are easily recognizable, but if the doctor is in any doubt about a
growth on the skin, a laboratory examination of part of the growth may be
necessary.  Examination of an entire mole under the microscope may be needed.

HOME CARE

     If a mole requires any kind of treatment, it must be medical, not home,
care.

PRECAUTION

  -  A mole should be seen by a doctor if it has been partly removed by
     accident; if it is bleeding, crusting, changing color, or growing
     rapidly; or if the pigment (color) is moving into the surrounding skin.

MEDICAL TREATMENT

     If removal of a mole is necessary (or desired for cosmetic reasons), it
must be performed by a doctor.  Any pigmented nevus probably should be removed
surgically because of the possibility of malignancy.
     Surgical excision (complete removal with a scalpel) will leave a scar of
some sort.  Moles cannot be safely removed by a procedure called
electrocautery or with the use of acids, dry ice, or liquid nitrogen.